MrSMW

Ha! Absolutely zero thought or planning just ‘stand there a sec, look left, look right, walk towards me’, just so I had a single piece of log footage to play with. A lot of work to do you and then I’ll make a lut from whatever end grade I come up with for the stills work that is always the other 50% of the equation. But thanks for the kind words 👍

First attempt at grading Vlog. Well first proper attempt and with the S5ii because I have tried in previous years with the S5 and S1H and always ended up going back to first the Natural profile and then the Flat profile. This was with Gamut's (old, I need to download the latest version) re709 conversion and then my grade on top. 4k 50p S35 crop footage shot with Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 APSC lens.

Possibly just my imagination, but the S5ii seems to have an even higher build quality? Just setting it up and noticed a few other minor updates such as the better placement of the LCD/viewfinder auto sensor and of course it has the fan, plus the 30 min recording limit lifted (in most modes) so isn’t all about the AF!

‘Spectrum’ not ‘Vision’ which are the faster, but cropped versions 🙈

Didn't Panasonic announce they were NOT going to be making any more compact cameras? Or has that decision been reversed? I wouldn't say no to an LX100iii if I was looking for a compact... Anyway, I've been spending money on lenses 🤪 I've had the Meike 50mm T2.1 for EF with the Fotodiox EF-L VND adapter for a while and used it a few times and liked it except for the size and weight, the latter especially which with the adaptor makes the total weight of 2.8lbs or 1.25kg...which is a bit weighty all day long off a camera strap along with a pair of S1Rs!! And that is 2.8lbs/1.25kg on top of the weight of the S1H which is already about the same on it's own. So I stopped using it partly because of that and partly because it was only one focal length. But the other day, I started watching a few 'budget' cine lens reviews and came across the 7Artisans APSC T1.05 range. These looked good...but then I found the smaller and lighter T2.0 'Vision' range and a set of 3; 35mm, 50mm and 85mm for 1250 dollars delivered. Button pushed. I will probably have to pay some import duty but still, a bit of a bargain for a set like that. So when they turn up, that is final final FINAL line up of bodies and lenses for this year which will be: Stills (plus if needs be, some additional video B roll) S1R + Sigma 16-28mm f2.8 (indoor) or 28-70mm f2.8 (outdoor) S1R + Sigma 85mm f1.4 Video S5ii + Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 (APSC lens) on gimbal and static duty S1H + 35/50/85mm T2.0 cine lenses for all other filming work. I would still like to end up with 3 identical bodies at some point as it will make several aspects of my work so much easier, but for now at least, this should be a 'perfect' combo for me and my specific needs. S1H successor with PDAF...?? 🤩

If I could wave a magic wand and do a zero fuss swap, ie, just wake up tomorrow with everything taken care of, it would be mighty tempting… It would work for me, but only as a sideways step and I’m very happy with the kit I have. But starting from scratch would be another matter!

Nothing wrong with that. In fact everything ‘right’. If Panny had not brought out the S5ii when they did, I would have flipped to Sony and gone for a pair of FX30’s for video and an A7V for hybrid (but mainly stills). No system is ‘perfect’ but if you can’t make any one of them work these days, it’s you, not the tools!

That is a bit odd… why is only C4K not affected? It is my standard anyway so that is good and this year I am switching from the Flat profile to log with some extensive testing coming up ahead of my main season.

The ZV1 was intended as my personal camera…but I think I took it on a trip just the once…and preferred the images coming out of my phone which at the time was an iPhone 8. OK, with a bit more effort, I could have got more out of the ZV1, but it was after that trip I just decided nah. But that is just my use case, as they say, YMMV. If I was going somewhere very special, I’d just take my most capable and compact camera of the time, which for the last couple of years, would have been S5 and now S5ii with my Sigma 28-70 zoom. But for 99% of the time, for me, phone.

For me, this kind of thing has been more about ease of use rather than ultimate quality of output. Like most, I don’t go anywhere without my phone. I’m not going to shoot a wedding on it, never mind a serious film, but the simple fact is as much as I like the idea of a compact EDC, my phone is my EDC.

This is my ‘issue’ with raw to date… A: How much faff and storage and work would I need to do to use it? B: Do I even ‘need’ to? The answer is right now, not really. But do I want a more ‘cinematic’ (whatever that is) image? Yes. Not so much for my clients but more for my own craft pleasure. So intrigued by raw, but will only use it if there is an actual benefit and it’s in camera and easy to use.

For me, an easy choice. Phone. Not necessarily an iPhone (though I do have the 13), but any photo/video-orientated one. Single bit of kit and most of my end result ends up on or being posted from my phone so May as well start there!

Ditto. In fact for the way I work, it is better. I really hope so… I have the Fotodiox EF-L adapter with built in VND and it’s a great bit of kit…except MF lenses only and I prefer Sigma DG DN lenses. It is. I sold mine though for 2 reasons: The variable aperture and the fact that it was a bit too slow for very low light and because sometimes (very rarely, but still sometimes!) I need to go wider. Hello Sigma 16-24mm f2.8 but because I am a crop mode 4k 50p shooter, it’s more like a 24-42mm which for my needs is great. That was my single biggest issue with the S5. My S5ii turns up this week and is actually going to be paired with permanently, the Sigma crop only, 18-50mm f2.8 Tiny but very capable crop 27-75mm. My S1H has had a stay of execution and is not being replaced by a second S5ii as all it needs to do is perform 30+ minute static duty on a tripod without AF, so a second S5ii in that role would be wasted (and the old S5 could not do it in the first place. Not in 10 bit 4K 50p anyway). And in a final about face, I am going to mostly be shooting zooms for my stills. I was going all primes (from f2’s to 1.4’s) with my S1R’s, but having tried out those f1.4’s, decided that ergonomically, I really needed battery grips to be comfortable on a typical 12-15 hour shoot…but the ergos of the S1R sans grip, are very well suited to that Sigma pairing of 16-24 and 28-70 so sticking with that as I have the lenses. And love them. The only prime I am keeping is the Sigma 85mm f1.4 because it’s not too big and an absolute gem for stills at 85mm, or for video cropped at ‘127mm’.

Does anyone know where Sarah Connor is right now? Hopefully pregnant and well protected…

Still waiting for my S5ii to turn up replacing my original S5… Otherwise, nope.

Yes, I was wondering the same thing yesterday… Not so much whether it was fake as such, but just what the connection was…

Double Post ^ !

For video, other than (reliable) tracking, I always found it quite decent. For stills, as long as it isn’t anything like motor sports or anything fast paced, it’s arguably better than phase because contrast is generally more reliable than phase. Where it pissed me off though was the occasional pulsing. You can dial in certain settings that dial out most of it, but not completely in all situations. Mainly outdoors. With trees in the background. Which is a scenario I shoot a lot. It was this that sent me down the route of using AF to get an initial lock, because despite being slower than PDAF, it is accurate, then immediately flipping to manual. And that is where/why I love my Sigma lenses because they all have an AF/MF switch in them so the process is fluid. Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer to switch the focus type on the lens rather than the body.

For my needs, that is the perfect example of the tools getting in the way of the job. It’s another reason why I like things such as auto ISO and auto WB. Not because I am lazy and do not appreciate the craft, but because I am not Hollywood, but a one man band with no second take option. Ultimately, it is compromise. There are a couple of alternatives that could work equally as well, but as per my previous statement above, a big part of the equation is the tools not getting in the way. At least as much as possible. If Panasonic had not brought in PDAF with the S5ii, I would have moved to Sony which was my personal needs next best set up. Still humming and hawwing over whether to get battery grips for my S1R’s because whilst they were OK with my previous f2 Sigmas, ergonomically not so great with my new f1.4 lineup…

Ditto. 2022 and 2021 also. I have a need for good AF in only a couple of scenarios, - entrances, exits and tracking a couple walking, but otherwise, in all other circumstances, I only use AF to get the initial focus lock, then switch to manual. When my S5ii does arrive...but this being France, it will be after the rest of the world and several other planets, it's going on the gimbal and living there with the gimbal itself being on or off a tripod. Entrances, exits, tracking and some general static duty will be it's only role. S1H, tripod only, dedicated to anything requiring 30 min+ static video. Pair of S1R's for principally stills, but also some B roll video. Job done for me! I don't 'need' anything else and won't be doing anything else in 2023. Beyond that, any changes might be to those S1R's, but more because I fancy it than need it, ie, all actual needs, already fulfilled.

I've reduced my preorder from 2 to 1 body now, but only because I'm sitting on the fence re. possible future replacement of my pair of S1R's, ie, I can easily 'get by' all of this year with that pair of S1R's and a single S5. Could be a future of 3x S5ii's...or could be switching out the S1R's for any new S'2'...or something Sigma...or even something Leica, but whatever and whenever it is, it needs to tick enough boxes for me and be actually more than rumour or speculation. What intrigues me most is whether I can get away with zero gimbal because I've never been much of a fan and certainly not for all day use, just very sparingly for certain specific things. When my S5ii does turn up (this is France so behind the curve) I'll see.

Reserved for the S1 line successor I guess ie, S5 is the ‘prosumer’ line but S1+ will remain the ‘pro’ option. Between this and using Film Convert’s option but the Gamut option is supposed to be a better conversion/starting point than any of Panny’s own options.

That was/is my plan! Thanks Tom